
How I Raised It - The podcast where we interview startup founders who raised capital.
Produced by Foundersuite.com, makers of the leading software stack for raising capital: Investor CRM + VC/Angel database + Pitch Deck Hosting + Investor Update tools. Used by startups to raise > $2.5 Billion.
Latest episodes

Aug 2, 2022 • 45min
Ep. 240 How I Raised It with Michael Bamberger of Tetra Insights
Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital. This episode is with Michael Bamberger of Tetra Insights (www.tetrainsights.com), a platform that helps companies turn user research into actionable insights.
In this episode, Michael talks about running a fundraising process and creating urgency, the Boulder Colorado startup scene. advantages of raising from a smaller VC fund, and more. We also talk about how cold email can work really well when you've done the proper investor research and targeting, and we go through the exact Subject Line and Email of the cold email that landed his lead investor.
Tetra Insights most recently raised a $5 million round of Series A funding led by Access Venture Partners with participation from Next Frontier Capital and Active Capital.
How I Raised It is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Foundersuite's customers have raised over $3 Billion since 2016. Create a free account at www.foundersuite.com.

Jul 28, 2022 • 37min
Ep. 239 How I Raised It with Carolyn Childers and Lindsay Kaplan of Chief
Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital. This episode is with Carolyn Childers and Lindsay Kaplan of Chief (www.chief.com), a private membership network focused on women executive leaders.
In this episode, Carolyn and Lindsay talk us through each round of financings, from Seed to Series A to Series B and they share exactly how they did it and what level of traction they had at each stage. They also provide tips for raising capital, managing a rapidly growing startup, and more.
Chief has raised $140 million over three rounds:
1) Chief announced its $3 million seed round in October 2018, led by Primary Venture Capital and Flybridge Capital Partners, with participants including Accel, Box Group, Able Partners, XFactor Ventures, Silas Capital, BBG Ventures, and Alexa Von Tobel.
2) In June 2019, Chief raised a $22 million Series A, co-led by General Catalyst and Inspired Capital, with previous investors and GGV Capital participating. Ken Chenault, chairman and a managing director of General Catalyst, and Alexa von Tobel, founder and managing partner of Inspired Capital, joined the board of directors. Chief also announced an additional $15 million extension in June 2020, led by GGV Capital.
3) In March 2022, the company raised $100 million in Series B funding at a $1.1 billion valuation, bringing its total funding to $140 million. The round was led by CapitalG, the independent growth fund of Google parent company Alphabet, and General Partner Laela Sturdy joined the board of directors. Previous investors General Catalyst, GGV Capital, Inspired Capital, Primary Venture Partners, Flybridge Capital Partners, and BoxGroup also participated in the round.
How I Raised It is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Foundersuite's customers have raised over $3 Billion since 2016. Create a free account at www.foundersuite.com.

Jul 22, 2022 • 40min
Ep. 238 How I Raised It with Eitan Reisel of vgames.vc
Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital. This episode is with Eitan Reisel of vgames.vc, an Israeli based VC firm that invests in gaming startups.
In this episode, Eitan talks about what gaming sectors are attractive, what he invests in and what key metrics startups should have, how he finds deals, and more.
He also shares an 8-step process (and tips) for raising a first time VC fund.
How I Raised It is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Foundersuite's customers have raised over $3 Billion since 2016. Create a free account at www.foundersuite.com.

Jul 14, 2022 • 52min
Ep. 237 How I Raised It with Scott Kitun of Songfinch
Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital. This episode is with Scott Kitun of Songfinch.com, a platform where anyone can purchase a custom made song.
In this episode, Scott talks about selling his last business (Technori) to Kingscrowd, how he used his podcast to meet investors, how they raised capital for Songfinch from celebrities like The Weekend, Quincy Jones, Harry Gottlieb and Doja Cat, and much more.
How I Raised It is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Foundersuite's customers have raised over $3 Billion since 2016. Create a free account at www.foundersuite.com.

Jul 12, 2022 • 26min
Ep. 236 How I Raised It with Samir Arora of Kyro Digital
Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital. This episode is with Samir Arora of Kyro.co, one of the first Web3 multi-chain services platforms.
In this episode, Samir describes the evolution of the Web and where it's going next, how he raised capital directly from blockchain partners, advice for keeping terms simple, and more.
How I Raised It is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Foundersuite's customers have raised over $3 Billion since 2016. Create a free account at www.foundersuite.com.

Jun 21, 2022 • 46min
Ep. 235 How I Raised It with Astrid Atkinson of Camus Energy
Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital. This episode is with Astrid Atkinson of Camus Energy (https://www.camus.energy), a startup helping to solve the climate crisis by making an energy grid management platform.
In this episode, Astrid talks about her 15 years at Google and what she learned there, how to enlist investors in the market research & discovery process, the challenges of raising capital for a cleantech startup that sells to utilities, the difference between "spiritually true" and "specifically true" investor feedback, the importance of having conviction, and much more.
Camus most recently raised a $16 million Series A venture round led by Park West Asset Management. Congruent Ventures, Wave Capital and other utility and venture investors also participated.
How I Raised It is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Foundersuite's customers have raised over $3 Billion since 2016. Create a free account at www.foundersuite.com.

May 26, 2022 • 36min
Ep. 234 How I Raised It with Jessica Mathews of Fortune Magazine / Term Sheet
Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital.
This episode is with Jessica Mathews (https://fortune.com/author/jessica-mathews/), a Senior Writer at Fortune Magazine. Jessica also writes the popular "Term Sheet" daily newsletter covering startups and venture capital. Sign up at https://mynewsletters.fortune.com/term-sheet
In this episode, Jessica talks about a "day in the life" of a VC reporter, how she performs research on the private capital markets, industries she finds interesting, tips for pitching a journalist, and more.
How I Raised It is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Foundersuite's customers have raised over $3 Billion since 2016. Create a free account at www.foundersuite.com.

5 snips
May 25, 2022 • 49min
Ep. 233 How I Raised It with Justine Palefsky and Tas Amina of Kindred
Justine Palefsky and Tas Amina, co-founders of Kindred, dive into the future of affordable travel through their home exchange platform. They share their journey of 'founder dating' and securing $7.75 million from top investors. The duo discusses the innovative credit system that enhances trust and community among users while revolutionizing travel experiences. They also touch on the challenges of fundraising in a shifting market, emphasizing the need for strong partnerships and sound financial strategies.

Apr 22, 2022 • 43min
Ep. 232 How I Raised It with Jonathan Hollis of Mountside Ventures
Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital.
This episode is with Jonathan Hollis of Mountside Ventures, a UK based advisory firm that helps European startups raise capital (www.mountsideventures.com).
In this episode, Jonathan talks about what it means to be "investor ready," what to include in a startup financial model, how to identify the right investors, how many VCs you should talk to, typical terms on a VC term sheet, advice for EU founders and much muck more.
Mountside recently released their inaugural Term Sheet guide, "Demystifying Venture Capital Term Sheets," aimed at founders raising an institutional round. The report provides insights from 200+ global venture capital investors on typical terms in a term sheet.
More info: https://medium.com/mountside-ventures/is-my-term-sheet-market-standard-8515f042179
How I Raised It is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Foundersuite's customers have raised over $3 Billion since 2016. Create a free account at www.foundersuite.com/

Apr 11, 2022 • 36min
Ep. 231 How I Raised It With Andrew Romans Of 7 BC Venture Capital
Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital. This episode is with Andrew Romans of 7BC Venture Capital (https://www.7bc.vc/) an early-stage venture fund focused on powering the digital economy through AI, FinTech, and software technologies.
In this episode, Andrew shares what he's looking for in a startup, tactics he used for raising his first venture fund, tips for winning over LPs, the pros and cons of using SPVs to do deals, tips for founders looking to build and leverage their personal networks, and much more.
7BC has raised capital from a global set of LPs including VC-backed founder operators, senior execs at Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, VMware and other top tech titans in the US as well as VCs, high tech execs and bankers and family offices in Japan, Singapore, the UK, Nordics, Europe, Africa and Latin America.
How I Raised It is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Foundersuite's customers have raised over $3 Billion since 2016. Create a free account at www.foundersuite.com.